Give Him The Time
by Suki-Itami
Summary: All anyone ever needs is someone to truly accept them for the person they are. There's someone for everyone, though it may take a while to notice. Lee/OC
1. Replacement

Neji, Lee, and Gai sat under a tree near a small pond that was near the western gate of Konoha; they were waiting for TenTen to arrive. She had called them all and told them to meet her there; she had something to tell them all. That was two hours ago.

Lee looked over to the village and saw TenTen walking towards them with someone behind her. "I see her, Gai-Sensei!"

Gai and Neji looked over where Lee was looking and saw TenTen and the other person coming as well.

Neji stood up and dusted his pants off. "About time."

Gai stood up without saying anything.

TenTen approached the group, smiling apologetically. "Sorry, I had to go talk to Lady Hokage first."

Lee stood up. "It is not a problem TenTen."

Neji sighed.

Gai nodded. "Okay. Who's your guest?"

TenTen moved aside so the girl behind her could be standing beside her. "This is Misaki Kurana, she's a friend of my family's. She's a year younger than us all but has the exact same level of power and potential as us."

"And what does that have to do with us?" Neji asked.

"Well," TenTen scratched the back of her head and smiled, "she's taking my place on the team."

This took all three of the boys off guard; their mouths hung open with shock.

Misaki bowed politely, her long black hair falling around her shoulders. "Pleased to meet you."

Lee looked into Misaki's bright green eyes when she straightened up again, he saw the power behind her eyes, but was uncertain about this. "But TenTen, why?"

"I need some time to train on my own and I can only do that by going to another village for awhile." TenTen said. "I can't stay on the team and you guys need three people. Misaki's squad was recently killed by enemy Shinobi, so it's a perfect fit."

"You don't understand, you just can't do this without consulting us first." Neji said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I have to agree." Gai said calmly. "Besides, we could help you to get to your full potential TenTen."

"Gai-Sensei, Neji…please understand that I need this time away from the village." TenTen said with pleading eyes. "Lady Hokage has already approved of this, Misaki is part of your team and I'm not."

Misaki walked towards Lee and held out a gloved hand. "I may not be TenTen, but I'll do my best." The bottom of the long sleeve from Misaki's light blue blouse hung low as though it were a ribbon.

Lee took Misaki's hand and shook it. "As long as you try your best." He said with his normal smile.

Misaki held her hand out to Neji, who ignored her and continued talking to TenTen.

Gai walked up to Misaki and held out his hand. "Forgive Neji, he's not used to change."

Misaki shook Gai's hand and nodded. "I understand. You're the Sensei…right?"

Gai nodded.

"So you're Gai-Sensei…?"

"The one and only!" He said with a wink and smile.

Misaki smiled and turned back to Lee. "And if he's Neji, then that means you're Rock Lee."

"Yes, but please call me Lee." Lee smiled.

"Okay."

TenTen and Neji walked over to the others.

TenTen hugged her friends. "Well, maybe I'll see you guys again, maybe not. Have a good life though." She walked off towards her home near the center of the village.

Neji looked at Misaki and noticed that she didn't have a headband on. "Do you have a headband?"

Misaki looked at Neji like he was psychotic. "Yeah, it's on my leg." She put out her leg to show that she had on a red Leaf headband around on her upper left leg, and also that she was wearing black gaucho pants. "And my shuriken holster's on my right leg."

Neji crossed his arms and huffed in fury.

Gai sighed; he knew that Misaki was going to be a handful if she started pissing off Neji already.

Lee chuckled a little; he liked Misaki already.

Gai turned towards the pond and pointed to it. "Lets test you Misaki."

Misaki looked at the pond confusingly. "What's the pond have to do with this?"

Gai smiled at Misaki's confused state. "You will fight Lee with all of your heart on the water."

"Yes, Gai-Sensei, I shall!" Lee said enthusiastically.

Misaki's shoulders slumped at Lee's enthusiasm; she really didn't want to fight right now. "Do I **have** to fight?"

Now Neji chuckled, he was going to be entertained with this.

Gai nodded. "You do. It's a test to see how long you can last. If you can last more than ten minutes against Lee, or if you can make him drop into the water, you win and we will accept you."

Misaki sighed and rolled up the sleeves of her blouse, tying them with the end of the ribbon-like sleeve to the neckline of her blouse. She had long thin arms; a pale white scar ran from the shoulder of her right arm to her elbow.

Lee eyed her scar with interest, he wanted to know where Misaki had obtained such a scar but didn't ask.

Fortunately, he didn't have to, Misaki answered his unasked question. "The scar is from a fight with Shinobi from the Sound Village. They slaughtered my team, I barely escaped with my life… I'm lucky that I was just scarred."

"Who was your Sensei?" Neji asked, sitting down and leaning against the tree again.

"My Sensei was Hayate Gekko, he was killed by a Sand Shinobi during the Chunnin Exams." Misaki said walking out onto the water. "My team and I had thought that the Sound Shinobi had killed him and we went to the Sound Village to avenge him. My teammates lost their lives trying to help me fight the Sound Shinobi." She stopped walking and looked back at the three boys. "I escaped as they died!"

Lee, Gai, and Neji stared at Misaki, who was now glassy eyed, with a mixture of fascination and sympathy. This girl, who seemed so happy on the outside, had a war raging inside of her because her friends sacrificed themselves for her sake. And she blamed herself.

Lee walked slowly onto the water to where she was standing and put a friendly hand on her shoulder. "It is not your fault, they did what they thought was right."

Misaki smiled at Lee softly and jumped back far enough to where she was out of his kicking range. "You specialize in Taijutsu, I just have to avoid your punches and kicks."

Lee sighed and assumed a battle stance. "You will never win."

Misaki stood with her left foot behind her far enough where her right leg was bending so that her knee was over her foot. Her right hand ready to pull out a kunai knife from her shuriken holster, her left hand hung limply at her side. This was her favorite battle stance, the way she had her feet and legs positioned allowed free movement to any side that the enemy could be on. It also allowed her to quickly jump into the sky if needed.

Lee ran at Misaki with his weighed down speed and prepared to punch her. As he was about to connect the punch with her face, Misaki leaned back on her left foot and spun around to Lee's backside. She grabbed the back of Lee's skin-tight outfit threw him over her head and back over to where Neji sat. Lee managed to catch a limb from a cherry blossom tree that sat directly over the pond and flipped back onto the water, facing Misaki, before hitting Neji.

"Not bad, for a start." Lee said cockily as he thought of his next approach. _A simple attack will not work on this girl, I must think of another way to defeat her._

Misaki sighed. "What a drag… I was hoping you guys would welcome me with no problem. This is a waste of time."

_She's just like that Shikamaru kid!_ Neji thought while staring at the fight blankly.

Misaki stood straight up with her legs together, her heels touching but her toes pointed outward; she held a kunai knife in her left hand far above her head and put her right hand on top of her left wrist. This was her stance that would assure her victory…in a normal battle, against someone other than Lee.

Lee ran at Misaki again, but this time ran around her and drew a kunai knife, aiming for the small of her back. If he hit there, she would be unable to move for a few hours. Misaki moved at the last possible second, black gloves that she had taken off as she jumped into the air fell to the water and floated there.

Misaki quickly did hand signs, with the kunai knife still in her hand, for a secret jutsu of her clan. Her clan's Keke-Genki: "Water Control!"

All of the water in the pond quickly moved like the sea as it's new master decided how to control it. Lee had to use nearly all of his concentration to stay on his feet on the shifting water.

Misaki threw the kunai knife into the water and formed a hand sign for another part of the Keke-Genki. "Water Weapons Barrage!"

Thousands of kunai knives made of water jolted from the water and started closing in on Lee.

_This is…unbelievable._ Lee thought as the water kunai came flying towards him.

Gai and Neji jumped in between Lee and the water kunai just as they were about to kill him and destroyed them all. Misaki landed on the shore and picked up her wet gloves, putting them back on.

Gai walked up to Misaki with Neji and Lee not too far behind. "That was impressive. I didn't say you had to **kill him** though."

"Sorry, I get excited during a fight." Misaki said casually, as if she'd heard someone say that before.

Neji walked up to Misaki and stopped directly in front of her. "I know you tried to hide it, but the Byakugan sees everything." Neji saw Misaki wince a little as he said that, he saw something he wasn't supposed to. "What's tattooed on your hands?"

Misaki sighed and took off one glove. There was an intricately designed tattoo on her hand. In the middle of a sea of characters on her palm was a large character: the character "Aku" (Evil).

The writing on her hand fascinated the three, even Neji hadn't seen anything like this with the Hyuuga's clan's Keke-Genki.

"What is it?" Lee asked, not really sure what to make of it.

"It's the seal of my clan." Misaki said, putting her glove back on. "The middle character represents what we are to become in the future of our lives. I'm 'Aku', so I will ultimately become evil like the Sound Shinobi."

"I don't believe destiny and fate is something you should believe in." Neji said as he crossed his arms over his chest again as he remembered his fight with Naruto. "Nothing is preordained."

Misaki nodded. "Yes, that's what I believe as well. I knew that once I went to go avenge my Sensei and, ever since, I swore to defeat evil…I will **never** stay true to this!"

Lee smiled a little, he seemed happy that Misaki didn't want to become evil.

"Which means…I will die by evil's hand." Misaki said more calm than she should have.

Gai, Lee, and Neji all gasped.

Gai, shocked, said, "But y-you just said –"

"It's happened to everyone in my clan who goes against their predetermined role in life!" Misaki yelled. "In my clan, we have a life set for us from the moment we take our first breath…it's tattooed into our skin when we turn five so that we never forget. If you go against it, then you will die by your own fate. Evil will cause my death."

Lee glanced at the ground and then looked back up into Misaki's eyes, which held a wanting-of-freedom in them. _Misaki…_

"Bull shit!" Neji said loudly.

Gai, Misaki, and Lee looked at Neji as soon as the words left his mouth.

"What?!" Misaki yelled at Neji. "How dare you! Don't call my clan's way of life 'bull shit'!"

"You just contradicted yourself. How can you believe in something but don't believe in something?" Neji asked as-a-matter-of-factly.

"I **don't** believe in this, but it's what happens!" Misaki yelled, pissed off at Neji.

"Listen you two, you can't fight or it could jeopardize the team." Gai said, trying to calm down Misaki.

"Gai-Sensei is right." Lee agreed. "Misaki, Neji, just calm down and do not fight. What happens happens, that is just how it is."

Misaki looked at Lee, then Gai, then back at Neji. "Lee's right, that's my clan. That's the way of the Kurana clan!"

Lee gave Misaki a hug from behind, a comforting friend hug. Misaki let Lee hug her; she didn't make any kind of movement to make him stop. She was actually kind of glad that someone wanted to comfort her instead of taking pity on her and telling her lies.

After a moment, Lee let her go and Misaki turned around to face him. She smiled slightly, knowing that she, at least, had Lee's friendship.

Neji sighed. "I didn't realize what you were saying was out of reality. I thought you were talking about destiny and fate and preordained shit that would never happen."

Misaki faced Neji again. "It's okay. I get worse."

Gai put his hand on her shoulder. "Welcome to the team."

Misaki smiled up at Gai and looked around at her new teammates. Her gaze lingered on Lee a bit longer than she thought but didn't know why.

~~  
Next Time;

Crush?:

Misaki is now part of Team Gai and has their friendship, trust, and loyalty. But what if she wants more from one of them and doesn't even know it herself?


	2. Crush?

"Okay, meet here tomorrow at eight o'clock, sharp!" Gai said with a thumbs-up and smile.

Lee saluted Gai and said, "Yes, Gai-Sensei!"

Neji sighed and walked off.

Misaki laughed and said, "See you guys tomorrow then." She then walked off, only permitting one short glance back to see if anyone was watching her.

When she saw that no one was, Misaki ran back to her home: the Kurana estate. A large estate, much like the grounds of the Uchiha estate, it has one main house for the main family and other houses for branch families. The main house holds all ten people of the main family, including Misaki, her parents, and her little brother.

Misaki ran into the estate grounds and saw greeted by a bow from her cousin that she was close with.

"Hey Rekki." Misaki said, stopping.

Rekki stood straight up, his short black hair waving ever so slightly in the wind as did his light blue kimono. "Lady Misaki, your mother has been looking for you everywhere."

"Uh-oh. She didn't find my note." Misaki mumbled to herself.

Rekki bowed low. "She told me that if I should find you that you are instructed to go directly to the main house, Lady Misaki."

Misaki ran towards the main house. "Thanks Rekki!"

Rekki waved and sighed as his cousin ran off.

Misaki removed her shoes before entering the house; she also had to compose herself before facing her mother and father. When she was ready, Misaki opened the door to her house and walked inside.

Her parents were sitting on the floor, facing the door. They had known she would be home soon.

Misaki bowed before sitting down in front of her parents. "Forgive me, I had left a note."

A woman of around thirty sighed angrily. "You missed your training, Misaki." Her long black hair was bound in a single ponytail at the nape of her neck.

"You said that you would no longer neglect your training." A man of maybe thirty-five said almost too calmly. His short black hair was spiked at the end; it almost reached to his shoulders.

"I know, Chichi…but my friend, TenTen, managed to get me on another team, another squad." Misaki said, looking at the ground.

"You said that you were done with teams!" Her mother nearly yelled.

Misaki looked up at her parents. "I know, but TenTen quit her team and they needed three people. They've already accepted me."

"Do they **know** that **you** caused your last team to **die**?!" Her mother hasn't thought highly of Misaki since the accident, pinning all of the blame on Misaki herself.

Misaki nodded. "I told them about what happened…but, with all due respect, it wasn't really all my fault. None of us were strong enough to have defeated the Sound Shinobi, and I had thought that there was a chance we'd all still be alive."

"Misaki, your mother just doesn't want anyone else to die. Is there anyway that you could quit?" Her father hasn't been the most supportive person since the accident, but he doesn't blame it all entirely on Misaki.

"No. I **will not** quit… I must move on, it's in the past now." Misaki said, standing up. "Now, if you'll excuse me I have to go rest up for tomorrow."

Misaki's mother stood up and blocked her daughter's escape to the hallway. "Do you honestly think that just because you're with another team that everything that happened will just disappear?! You're a **fool**! Your friends' families have **not** moved on and never will. **It's** **all you fault that happened**!!"

"I'M SICK AND TIRED OF HEARING IT! IT HAPPENED BECAUSE IT HAPPENED, GET OVER IT!!" Misaki yelled as she pushed past her mother and ran to her room.

As Misaki ran, she heard her mother mumble, "She **is** evil, just like she's supposed to be…that murderer."

Misaki ran into her room and slammed the door behind her, jumping onto her bed and crying into her pillow. _It's not my fault; I'm __**not**__ evil! None of us knew it would happen! Don't pin the blame on me._

Misaki lay there and cried until she eventually cried herself to sleep.

…

The next day Misaki woke up around six o'clock and decided to take a shower. While she was walking to the bathroom with her clothes in hand, her mother stopped her and slapped her across the face.

Misaki looked up at her mother, her eyes watering.

"Don't **ever** backtalk me again!" Her mother threatened. "Next time I won't just slap you, murderer!"

Misaki ran past her mother and into the bathroom. Once in the bathroom, Misaki sank to her knees and cried again. Misaki knew that each time she came home she would be called "murderer" and that she would either be slapped or hit, but it still took her off guard for her own parents to call her that and do that to her.

Misaki stood up again and jumped into the shower, hoping that the hot water would take away how she felt. Unfortunately, it didn't by the time she got out an hour later. She quickly got dressed and ran back to her room for her black gloves to put them on.

As she was leaving the estate grounds, Rekki stopped her.

"Lady Misaki, where are you going?" Rekki asked with a bucket of water in his hands. He was taking it to his private garden behind his house.

"I'm going to meet my new team out by the pond." Misaki said, trying to hide the red mark on her face with her hair.

"I heard your argument last night with your parents." Rekki said. "I didn't mean to, but they don't seem too happy about you being with this new team. Team Gai, right…?"

Misaki nodded. "Yeah, team Gai. They're good people, and they're stronger than my last team so at least I don't have to worry about losing them."

Rekki nodded and started walking away. "Well, see you later Lady Misaki."

Misaki walked off the estate grounds without saying goodbye to Rekki. She didn't want her parents to see her leaving.

…

By the time Misaki got to the pond, Lee was already there sitting beneath the tree. They still had twenty minutes before they had to meet, but it never hurt to be early.

"Hey Lee." Misaki said, walking up to Lee and sitting down.

"Misaki." Lee said, opening his eyes. He saw the slap mark. "What is that?"

Misaki put her hand where the slap mark was, she had hoped it was gone. "I got into an argument with my mother."

Lee put his hand on Misaki's cheek, his cold skin felt good against the red area of skin. "About what?"

Misaki didn't answer for a moment or two but then said, "My old team…she says I'm a murderer because of what happened. My father doesn't say anything but I can tell that he blames me all the same."

Lee pulled Misaki into another friendly embrace, kind of like the one from yesterday. "It is not your fault. These things happen."

Misaki wrapped her arms around Lee and cried into his shoulder. "I-I tried t-to tell h-her that…but s-she can't be a-argued w-with!"

Lee didn't say anything and just kept his arms around Misaki as she cried into his shoulder and let out everything that she had been keeping inside since the accident.

After about ten minutes, she was done and let go of Lee. Misaki sat against the tree, next to Lee, and wiped her eyes. "Thanks Lee, most people don't care what I think or what I say…most people in my family don't even give a shit about me anymore."

Lee smiled at Misaki and said, "Even if they do not care, I will. I am your friend, Misaki, and I **will** listen to you because I care about you."

Misaki smiled back at Lee. _Thank you._

"There is Neji." Lee said as Neji walked up.

Neji sat down in front of Misaki and Lee. "How long have you two been here?"

"Not too long." Misaki said, sniffing. Misaki was hoping that the slap mark was gone by now that way she wouldn't have another break down.

Luckily it was, Neji didn't say anything about it. Not too much longer later, Gai walked up and nodded at them.

"Gai-Sensei, what is our training today?" Lee asked with his usual enthusiasm.

"Follow me." Gai said, leading the group away from the pond.

When Gai stopped, the team was in a clearing near the Chunnin exams arena. There wasn't a lot of cover, some of the trees didn't have any branches so they looked liked tall stumps. Places where the trees had been beaten in by the large snakes that had attacked Konoha two years ago were still there…along with names carved into the trees of those who had died. Friends or family had carved these names into the trees.

Misaki looked around the area confusingly. "Is this where we're training?"

"Trust me, this isn't the weirdest place he'll take us for training." Neji said after he sighed, remembering the survival training on a mountain in the far north. (That was NOT intended to be perverted! If you take it that way, I will lock you in a cage and throw you in the gutter!)

"It's not that, it's just that this area is so…" Misaki looked at a tree with Hayate's name carved into it. "Depressing."

Lee looked around the area and at all the names of the dead. "Misaki is right. Gai-Sensei, why are we here?"

Gai faced the three with a solemn look on his face. "Misaki, I understand that you and your old teammates carved Hayate's name into that tree over there…?" He pointed at the tree Misaki was looking at.

"Yes. Why?" Misaki replied, looking at the ground.

Gai handed Misaki a kunai knife. "Below his name you can carve the names of your teammates."

Misaki wrapped her fingers around the kunai and looked up at Gai like he was crazy…but didn't complain. She had wanted to do this for sometime now, but Misaki just never had enough courage to come out. Misaki stood in front of the tree and carved the names "Takeshi Kendo" and "Ryuji Byo" into the trunk. She put a small heart next to their names and turned to give the kunai back to Gai…but the boys had disappeared.

Misaki looked around for any of them, but she didn't see them. _I see…a distraction. You still want to test me._ Misaki sighed. "Such a pain."

Neji jumped out from the other side of the tree and attempted to hit her with the gentle fist. Luckily Misaki jumped into the air when she sensed Neji's chakra. When Misaki landed again, Lee came out from the cover of some branches from a far away tree and tried to punch her, but she twirled out of the way once she saw him. Neji tried again to attack her with the gentle fist, but Misaki dodged him again.

Gai then jumped up from underground and grabbed Misaki by the ankle, throwing her down to the ground…but when she collided with the ground, she became a log.

"Up here!" Misaki shouted as she brought the heel of her foot down into Gai's face and he went flying towards the ground.

She landed next to him, when he stayed face down on the ground Misaki concentrated on the other two boys. _Damn, why do they have to do this to me?!_

Neji and Lee came running at her at the same time, Neji preparing to attack with gentle fist again and Lee with a kunai knife out.

Remembering her own kunai knife when she saw Lee's, Misaki jumped up into the air where Neji couldn't get her as Lee did. The two had a mini-sparing match in the air, as they stayed suspended there for what seemed like minutes but was truly only seconds. Lee and Misaki both dropped their kunai knives as they pushed away from each other and dropped back to the ground. As soon as Misaki's feet met the ground, Neji started his assault. Luckily Misaki was ready for this.

She formed her hands into the shadow clone jutsu seal and five different clones popped up. The five Misaki's stared at the two boys with a come-and-get-me look. Neji and Lee ran at the clones, Neji directed Lee to the real Misaki as he got rid of the clones.

Lee kicked the real Misaki in the side of the face, making the clones disappear. Misaki skid for a couple of feet then jumped up and threw four shuriken at the two boys. She then did multiple hand signs for another of her clan's Keke-Genki techniques.

Neji quickly did rotation to disperse the shuriken. But when the shuriken dispersed, Misaki was standing on top of a 100-foot water dragon. A dragon without wings, it's ears looked like the wings of a falcon, it's eyes a piercing blood red, it's teeth sharp as a sword.

"How do you like my water dragon, boys?" Misaki asked cockily as she stood with perfect balance on the dragon's head.

Lee and Neji looked up at Misaki with fascination; they had never seen something even remotely **close** to this.

"Neji, what is that?" Lee asked with fear in his voice.

"It's…It's exactly what she said…a water dragon." Neji said with a quiver in his voice. "No amount of chakra could've made, or summoned, that…so how…?"

"It's part of the Kurana clan's Keke-Genki of water control. Depending on your 'fate', you get to make one animal – mythological or real." Misaki smirked. "Since I am 'Aku', I can summon a water dragon. No chakra is in this dragon, it's made purely of water. Strangely enough, I can teach this technique to the one I'm fated to be with."

"Where did the water come from? Gai-Sensei said that he picked this spot because there was no water." Lee said confusingly.

Misaki pointed to the tail end of her dragon. A small puddle was near the other end of the clearing, that's how she got the water needed.

Neji and Lee stood there with their mouths wide open, shocked that a dragon that massive could be made from so little water.

"A ninja must always be aware of their surroundings." Misaki said as-a-matter-of-factly. "I noticed the puddle when we first arrived. Gai-Sensei must not have…I wonder if I could just go ahead and kill you…?"

The water dragon moved forward quickly, it's massive jaw opening. Neji and Lee turned around to run but the dragon dissipated and vanished. They turned to face Misaki again and noticed her floating elegantly down to the ground.

Misaki landed and put one hand on her hip. "I win."

Neji sighed and deactivated Byakugan. "Dammit, don't do that!"

Lee sighed in relief and fell to the ground. "Yes, Misaki, please do not scare us like that."

Misaki chuckled lightly. "Did you honestly think that I was going to kill you? Come on, gimme more credit than that!"

Gai sat up finally, dirt in his face. He noticed that they weren't fighting and that the ground around Misaki was saturated, but only there. "What did I miss?"

"I won." Misaki said nonchalantly.

Gai sighed. "I meant the ground…why is it wet?"

"Water dragon." All three of the teenagers said at once.

Gai sweatdropped, that really didn't answer his question at all, but he dropped it. "So, how did Misaki win?"

Once again they all said, "Water dragon."

Gai sighed. "What are you talking about?"

"Water dragon!" They all shouted.

(Lee: Gai-sensei!!

Misaki: Do I want to know??? *eye-twitch*

Lee: Probably not.

Kenji: Well, that was odd…

Misaki: *looks at Kenji* You're not supposed to be here yet!

Kenji: Oh! Oops! *poof away*

Me: Heh-heh… Back to the story…)

"It's not that hard to understand if you paying attention to me and Lee's fight yesterday." Misaki said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Gai thought about it for a moment then remembered the water control that Misaki did. "A dragon made from water. But how did you obtain the water?"

Neji, Lee, and Misaki pointed over to the puddle near where the saturated ground ended. Gai looked over at it with an angry look. He was mainly angry at himself for missing it when he did the overlay of the area this morning.

"So, I guess that I should reward you for winning Misaki." Gai sighed. "How about some ramen?"

Misaki gave Gai that had-that-too-much-as-a-kid look. "How about Gai buys us all some junk food and we go to the academy and bug Iruka-Sensei…?"

Lee jumped up in excitement. "Yes, that sounds like it will be fun!"

Neji sighed but nodded. "I am overdue for a little bit of fun."

Gai chuckled and said, "He might not be there, him and Kakashi had some plans for today."

"Him and…Kakashi?" Misaki seemed a bit taken back by this. "Iruka **Umino**???" (She's just confirming it. And you can take that any way you want, you're probably right anyway.)

"Yes." Gai said calmly.

Misaki shrugged. "Oh well, might as well get some junk food anyway."

Lee and Neji agreed with her, both enjoyed junk food as much as any other teenager.

Gai sighed. "Fine."

The four of them walked towards the nearest convenience store and raided the candy aisle. By the time they left, they had filled three **large** shopping bags with candy. Gai had virtually nothing left in his wallet thanks to them.

The three teenagers dropped the bags in the same clearing that had just fought in, away from the wet ground where the water dragon disappeared.

Misaki pulled out a bag of chips and opened them. Neji pulled out a Hershey's bar and started munching on it. And Lee took out an orange Popsicle and started eating it. Gai had left when his cell phone went off; someone had asked him to meet them somewhere so he left.

The three sat silently eating their junk food for about an hour and a half, until it was nearly all gone. Lee and Misaki reached inside the same bag for another cookie and they came out both holding a heart shaped cookie.

Misaki blushed a little and Lee stared at the cookie strangely. Misaki quickly broke the cookie in half, jagged edges of the two halves resembled a broken heart. The two ate their halves of the cookie silently as Neji stared on, he was filled up ten minutes ago but hadn't left.

Lee and Misaki finished off the box of cookies and buried the trash within five minutes. As the three were departing, Misaki stopped Neji.

"Yeah?" Neji asked as Misaki stopped him.

Misaki looked at the ground. "I need to tell Lee something, but I don't know how."

"What do you need to tell him?" Neji asked, putting one hand on his hip.

Misaki blushed. "I…I think that I…I might…like him a little."

"Really?"

Misaki nodded. "I don't know how to tell him that though!"

"I'll tell him." Neji offered, but Misaki quickly shook her head. "Why not?"

"I don't want him to know, but I…I need to tell him on my own, I just don't know how." Misaki looked up at Neji with pleading eyes. "Help me."

Neji shrugged. "I don't know how to help or what to say. Just do as your heart commands is all I have to really offer as advice."

Misaki smiled and looked back at the ground. "Thanks Neji."

"No problem." Neji turned and walked off. "See ya."

"Bye." Misaki said as she ran back to the estate.

But nothing could prepare her for what would happen when she arrived home.

Next Time:

I'm Not Who You Say I Am;

It's not his fault, if you need someone to blame and hurt…blame me, hurt me! But I will **never **be a murderer, no matter what you say!


	3. I'm Not Who You Say I Am

Misaki walked onto the Kurana estate grounds and found that it seemed deserted. This surprised her because normally the branch families would be running around the estate cleaning…but nobody was out.

Misaki walked to the main house and took off her shoes, about the time she did she heard someone inside the house scream in pain. Misaki quickly opened the door and stepped inside to find her cousin Rekki being beaten by her parents. Rekki's parents, Misaki's aunt and uncle, were tied to a far wall, unable to do anything.

Misaki stared wide eyed and yelled, "What the hell is going on?!"

Everyone looked at the wide-eyed Misaki as she yelled.

Lady Kurana lowered the wooden club that was above her head. "Where were you all day?"

"I was with my **team**." Misaki said. "What are you doing to Rekki?!"

"Lady…Lady Misaki, it's okay." Rekki said weakly. "It's my fault, I should've stopped you…I deserve…this."

"Damn right, you do!" Lady Kurana raised the club above her head again.

Misaki ran in front of Rekki and blocked her mother from hitting him again.

"Misaki?!" Rekki and his parents were surprised at Misaki's choice to defend a lower branch.

"It's not his fault! Take it out on me if you want. **I'm** the one who went against your word, not him!" Misaki said boldly. It was rare that even Lord Kurana stood up to his wife, but Misaki stood up against her without a second thought.

Lady Kurana smirked. "Fine, have it your way. **After** I'm done with him." (I will seriously lock you in a cage and keep you in the gutter if you don't get your head **out** of the gutter right now!!)

"No!" Misaki yelled. "It's not his goddamn fault, it's mine! I'll take his punishment ten fold, just leave him alone!"

Lady Kurana smiled widely. "I never thought that you would be so bold. Fine, you can have the punishment ten fold and I'll let Rekki go without anymore punishment."

Lord Kurana threw Rekki outside and untied his parents to go help him to their house.

Rekki's mom turned around. "Thank you, Lady Misaki." She said and then turned and ran to help her husband get Rekki to their house.

Lord Kurana shut the front door and stood in front of it.

Misaki faced her mother. "Well?"

Lady Kurana continued smiling and said, "Finally, the murderer gets divine punishment." She raised the wooden club above her head again.

Misaki closed her eyes as the club came towards her. _No. I'm not a murderer, I didn't do anything wrong!_

…

The next day Lee, Neji, and Gai walked up to the Kurana estate, looking for Misaki. She hadn't shown up for their training and it worried them all. So they went to Tsunade and asked where the Kurana estate was.

Lee, who had been nominated to get Misaki from the estate, walked up to the estate gate and knocked loudly.

Rekki answered, his left eye was covered with a black patch. "Can I help you?"

"We are looking for Misaki." Lee said. "Do you know if she is home?"

Rekki looked around the inside of the estate before saying, "She's been injured badly. She needs medical attention, but her parents, Lady and Lord Kurana, refuse to take her. I can't leave the ground because the Lord and Lady might find out."

"I do not understand."

Rekki looked at the ground. "Lady Misaki is terribly injured due to injuries that her parents caused. Please, take her to the clinic. Hold on one moment." Rekki closed the gate and came back a minute later, handing Lee a scroll. "This scroll contains a map of the estate. I marked where we are and where Lady Misaki's room is."

Lee looked at the scroll and nodded.

"I begging you, hurry." Rekki closed the gate and Lee walked back over to Gai and Neji.

Neji saw the scroll in Lee's hands. "What's that?"

Lee rolled it out. "A map of the estate."

Gai and Neji exchanged confused glances. When Lee saw this he explained the situation, which caused Neji and Gai to become shocked and pissed.

"We must hurry." Lee said urgently. He pointed out where Misaki's room is and that they will split up so as to not be seen by anyone who would stop them.

Once they had a plan worked out, Neji, Gai, and Lee snuck into the estate and ran to Misaki's room. In front of her room was a young boy of maybe eight, not even graduated from the academy, he seemed to be torn between going in or not.

The young boy had short black hair and wore a baggy black shirt and black capris; his eyes the same color as Misaki's.

Lee walked up to the boy. "Excuse me."

The boy looked up at Lee helplessly. "Who are…you?"

"I am a friend of Misaki." Lee said as Neji and Gai looked on from behind a corner.

"You're ane's friend?" The boy asked quickly. (Ane = Older Sister)

Lee nodded, unsure of how much to tell the boy. "Is she in there?"

The boy nodded. "Ane isn't usually in her room at this hour. And mom and dad don't normally let her stay in her room this long…I heard an argument last night between Misaki and our parents." He looked up at Lee. "Ane sometimes gets hurt when she argues with mom and dad!"

Lee nodded and tried to open the door, but it was locked. _What the…?_

"Ane was locked in there…I fear that she might be hurt more than usual." The boy said sadly as he looked at the ground.

Lee angrily kicked down the door, which shattered loudly as he did. (Using shattered for lack of a better word.)

Neji and Gai ran down to where Lee was standing when he didn't move from his spot. When they looked, they saw why Lee stood still when he saw Misaki.

Misaki lay limply on her bed, her left eye completely blackened, her right arm looked broken, there was a large cut that was still bleeding above her right eye. Her left arm had black and blue bruises running up and down it, her gaucho pants were ripped and her right leg was broken.

The boy ran inside Misaki's room. "Ane!"

Misaki opened her right eye only, her left eye refused to open. "Kosuke…? Otouto, why are you…in here?" She huffed. (Otouto = Younger Brother)

Kosuke started crying. "Ane, they hurt you really bad this time!"

Misaki smiled as much as she could. "I'll…be fine."

Lee, Neji, and Gai ran in her room. Neji had some bandages in his pocket from a while back; it was a good thing he had kept them.

Neji started wrapping the bandages around her head to stop the bleeding in the cut above her eye.

Misaki saw her team there and became confused. "Lee, Gai-Sensei…Neji? Why are…are you here?"

"You did not show up, so we came as fast as we could." Lee said, picking up Misaki bridal style. "Then some boy at the gate directed us to your room." He walked out of Misaki's room.

_Rekki…thank you._ Misaki thought as Kosuke clutched her right hand without hurting it. "Kosuke, stay here."

"No!" Kosuke yelled. "I'm not staying here while you get to escape this place!"

"Otouto!"

"How old is he?" Neji asked, picking up Kosuke and putting him on his back against Misaki's wishes.

"Eight." Misaki said, becoming weaker.

"Cut the chatter. Lets get her out of here!" Gai snapped.

Lee and Neji nodded and jumped over the wall and ran as fast as they could into Konoha. Once the clinic was in sight, they had gotten enough strange stares from people for their liking. But when they arrived at the clinic, Tsunade was there in the front and gasped when she saw Misaki.

"WHAT IN THE HELL?!" Tsunade shouted. "WHAT HAPPENED TO HER?! Quick, get her into surgery, **now**!!"

The nurses did as Tsunade said, though they couldn't have gone quick enough. By the time they got Misaki into the E.R., Tsunade looked like she was about to give herself an ulcer. To calm down a little, Tsunade sat down with Team Gai and Kosuke.

Kosuke looked at Tsunade, a bit scared at her yelling-at-people-at-the-top-of-her-lungs thing. "Um…Lady Hokage…?"

Tsunade looked over at Kosuke, who was sitting in between Neji and Gai. "Yeah?"

"Will ane be okay?" Kosuke asked sadly.

Tsunade let out a breath so as not to yell at the little kid. "I'm not sure. She looked pretty bad, I'll go in there in a minute…I just about gave myself a migraine **and** an ulcer though."

Kosuke didn't know what Tsunade meant, but didn't ask.

One of the nurses ran out. "Lady Tsunade, we're not sure what's going on but she's not breathing correctly."

Tsunade jumped out of her seat and ran into the E.R. "Shit!"

Lee, Gai, and Neji exchanged worried glances then looked at Misaki's confused little brother. They weren't sure if they should say anything or just stay quiet until Kosuke asked or said something.

Kosuke looked at the three people that were looking at him and asked, "Do you think ane will be okay?"

The three men looked at each other, not sure what to say. Part of them thought that she would be just fine, but another part said that she wouldn't be okay at all.

Lee mustered up as much of a smile as he could. "Misaki has been through a lot…this should not be anything for her."

Kosuke smiled a little and leaned back in his seat and shut his eyes.

Neji and Gai gave Lee a what-the-hell-do-you-think-you're-doing look, and Lee just shrugged. He just didn't want to worry Kosuke; after all he was only eight-years-old.

Kosuke was asleep after five minutes, leaving Gai, Neji, and Lee to talk amongst themselves.

Neji was debating in his mind to tell Lee what Misaki had told him yesterday or not. _I'll tell him if Misaki doesn't seem like she's going to make it._

"Gai-Sensei." Lee said, looking at Gai. "Why do people have to do this to their own children?" Lee was sad, he couldn't believe what he had been told but knew it was true.

Gai sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "I'm not sure, Lee. But the thing is, her parents never had to do this to her…they chose to, out of their own sick obsession."

Lee and Neji looked at each other, exchanging the same sad look.

"But, Gai-Sensei, Misaki would never deserve such a horrible treatment." Lee said, looking at the ground.

"Nobody does deserve it…but it happens." Gai said with a straight face. "I've seen my fair share of this, even in enemy villages. We'd be there to kill someone for a death in our village…and their child would be dead on the floor next to where they stood…their hands still covered in blood."

Neji looked at the floor now, unable to say anything.

"**Nothing** can describe the horror of seeing a Shinobi standing next to their dead child with their blood on his or her hands!" Gai said, closing his eyes.

Tsunade walked out, sighing in relief. "Good news."

Lee, Neji, and Gai all turned at the sound of Tsunade's voice.

"Misaki will be okay. She'll just be on a crutch for a few weeks. She'll also have to spend a couple days here." Tsunade said.

Lee, Neji, and Gai smiled at the relief that Tsunade's news brought. Neji woke up Kosuke.

Kosuke rubbed his eyes. "What?"

"Misaki's okay." Neji said happily.

Kosuke smiled and was awake immediately. "Yaay! Bushy brow was right after all!"

Lee sweatdropped. _'Bushy brow'?!_

"You can go see her, she's awake…not the most responsive right now, but considering her condition it's pretty good." Tsunade nodded.

"Why did you take her to surgery, Lady Tsunade?" Lee asked as Tsunade lead them to Misaki's room.

"Her right leg was pretty much almost irreparable, so we had to fix it as soon as we could." Tsunade said. "She had a large bruise on her chest that caused quite a lot of pressure and that's what caused her to not breathe correctly."

Tsunade opened the door to Misaki's room and Misaki was sitting up, looking out the window at a little kid playing to get his strength back up after his broken leg healed.

"Misaki!" Tsunade scolded. "I told you not to sit up yet!"

Misaki looked over at Tsunade, her little brother, and her team. "Sorry, I just…wanted to see outside. To know I'm alive."

Misaki had a bandage that wrapped around her head and covered her left eye. Her left arm was in a sling and her right arm covered in bandages. Her right leg, which stuck out at the end of the bed, was in a cast. Bandages could be seen at the v-neck of the white kimono Misaki had to wear that wrapped around her upper body. She didn't look as bad now as she had earlier when her team found her dying in her room.

Tsunade sighed. "Fine. I just need to know how to contact your parents."

Misaki's right eye became wide and she shook her head furiously. "No! They did this to me! I can't stand to see them!"

Tsunade seemed shocked, but not as shocked as most people would have been. "Of course, but, when you get out, where will you go…?"

Misaki shrugged. "I don't know."

Lee raised his hand. "You can stay with me. I have an extra room in my apartment."

_That was quick!_ Misaki thought. _I suppose I could enjoy living with Lee._ Misaki smiled. "Thanks Lee."

Just then, Lady and Lord Kurana ran into Misaki's room.

Misaki recoiled away from her approaching parents and toward the wall. "Stay away!"

Lee and Neji walked over to Misaki's bed and stood in front of her, glaring at her parents.

"Misaki!" Lady Kurana fake cried. "What happened to you? I knew that this new team would be bad for you! Look what they did!"

"How'd you know I was here?!" Misaki shouted.

Lady Kurana sniffed. "Rekki said that you went off with your team and we saw blood around where he said that you were going! Misaki, this was a horrible idea. They…they hurt you!"

Misaki shook her head. "YOU'RE LYING! YOU KNOW WHO IT WAS THAT **REALLY** HURT ME!!!"

Lord Kurana sighed. He didn't really care; he was mostly emotionless.

"Honey, how can you be emotionless when our daughter's injured so badly?" Lady Kurana fake cried even more. She looked over at Kosuke, who was hiding behind Gai. "Kosuke, my son, come and cry into my arms."

Kosuke shook his head. "You hurt ane, it's your fault she's like this."

Tsunade sighed angrily, fed up with the act. "I've heard enough, it's obvious who did this."

"Wh-What?!" Lady Kurana acted shocked.

"You're a horrible actress, and your husband doesn't help." Tsunade sighed.

Lady Kurana wiped away the fake tears angrily and glared at Misaki. "You bitch, we told you that you're a murderer. Why couldn't you just stay true to your destiny?!"

"There is no such thing as destiny!" Misaki yelled back.

"Will you stop yelling?!" Tsunade yelled at Misaki and her mother. "There are other patients besides you!"

Misaki looked outside. "I thought that I was about to die by evil's hand today. But this just proves that there is no destiny."

"I am **not** evil!" Lady Kurana shouted. "My destiny, my fate, is 'roku'. You know that!" (Author's Note: Roku = Good Fortune)

Tsunade chuckled.

"What so funny?!"

"You think it's good fortune to go to prison?" Tsunade chuckled.

Lady Kurana backed a step. "You can't send **me** to prison! They need me!"

"Your husband's going too." Tsunade said. "Attempted murder."

"My husband was destined for greatness since he took his first breath!" Lady Kurana shouted. "The Kurana clan **needs** him! His destiny, his fate, is 'kōchō'." (A/N: Kōchō = leader)

Tsunade shook her head. "Maybe he'll be 'kōchō' of the men who love sex in the prison."

"How dare you!" Lady Kurana shouted. "I should—"

"Dear, we shouldn't have done this to Misaki." Lord Kurana said calmly. "I'll go without a fight. I never liked my 'destiny' anyway."

Tsunade nodded. "I appreciate it."

Lady Kurana looked at her husband like he was possessed. "You would rather lose your power than **fight** for your power?!"

Lord Kurana smiled down at his wife. "There's more to life than power…what goes around, comes around. We have to pay for our actions."

"Chichi…?" Misaki was confused; her father had never said this much to defend her before.

Lord Kurana faced Misaki. "You're not a murderer, you had every right to be angry with us. What happened that day wasn't your fault."

Misaki stared at her father the same way she did before the accident, like a father she could appreciate. "Chichi, have you always thought this?"

Lord Kurana nodded. "I have, but never thought that I would have to pay for keeping my mouth shut this entire time. Misaki, forgive me."

Misaki smiled. "I forgive you, Chichi…besides, you never hit me or called me 'murderer'."

"You deserved it!" Lady Kurana shouted. "I could **never** accept being mother to a fucking murderer!! You should die and rot in the deepest pit of hell!!"

Misaki glared at her mother. "Even if I was a murderer, I'm your daughter and you shouldn't treat me like a piece of shit!!"

Tsunade led Lord Kurana out of the room while dragging Lady Kurana behind her.

Misaki sighed in relief when Gai shut the door and lay down in her bed. "My family's fucked up!"

"Kosuke **is** still here." Gai pointed out.

Misaki's eye grew wide with realization when Gai said that. _Oh crap!_

"What's shit mean?" Kosuke asked innocently.

"Heh-heh. That's not something you need to be saying at your age!" Misaki said quickly as she chuckled nervously.

"What about fu—"

"No!" Misaki cut him off as soon as he tried to say it. "No, no, no! You're too young, otouto!"

Kosuke looked at the three men who were laughing their asses off confusingly. But they were glad that Misaki's energy was back, as was her maximum brain function.

Misaki sighed to calm down then asked, "When am I getting out of here?"

Lee, Gai, and Neji shrugged.

Misaki sighed again.

"We'll ask her when she comes by next." Neji said.

Misaki nodded and sighed once again. "I just want to get out of here! It smells funny in here!"

Lee smiled. "It **is** a hospital."

"True…" Misaki yawned.

"Tired?"

"A little. I hate to ask you guys this, but could one of you take Kosuke back to the estate and tell Rekki about the current situation?" Misaki asked, her eye(s?) getting heavy.

Gai nodded. "Neji and I will go. Lee will keep you company."

Lee nodded.

Misaki looked at Neji, silently asking him if he said anything to Gai. Neji shook his head and walked out of the room with Gai and Kosuke.

Lee pulled up a chair and sat down next to Misaki. He smiled at Misaki as she looked at him and closed her eyes.

_Why can't I just tell you how I feel?_ Misaki asked herself as she fell asleep.

Next Time:

How To Forget And Forgive;

You! Why the hell are you here?! You have some nerve showing up after destroying my life!!


	4. How to Forget and Forgive

(A/N: Kenji Uchiha is NOT my OC, but Rakurai-Arashi's. She gave me permission to use him in my story.)

…

Misaki woke up and found that the sun was rising. She had slept through the entire day yesterday and all night last night. Nobody could really blame her though, after what she had been through it would be crazy if she hadn't slept that long.

She sat up and looked at Lee, who was sleeping on the chair next to her bed. It didn't seem like he had left her side.

Misaki smiled. _Lee…_ Misaki reached out her right hand to grab Lee's hand, which sat on the bed next to her, when he started opening his eyes.

"Misaki…?" Lee said rubbing his eyes.

Misaki moved her hand away and blushed lightly. "I was about to wake you up."

Lee smiled and yawned. "Thank you. You must have been tired, you slept all day yesterday and straight through the night."

Misaki nodded. "I was…thank you for staying here last night. You didn't have to."

"It was my duty…" Lee said, stretching in the chair.

Misaki looked down. _He didn't stay here because he wanted to?_

"And you are my friend, it would be dishonorable to abandon a friend." Lee said when Misaki looked down.

Misaki looked back at Lee and smiled. "So, where's Neji and Gai?"

"Gai-Sensei left to go get some coffee before I fell asleep a few hours ago. I do wonder where he went… Neji fell asleep on the floor, right over there." Lee said, pointing to the sleeping figure of Neji.

Misaki nodded. "I'll them thank you when Gai shows up again, and Neji wakes up."

Lee stood up and stretched out his back as Gai walked in with a cup of coffee.

"Misaki's awake!" Gai said, stating the obvious.

"Thank you for staying here, you didn't have to." Misaki said as Gai sat down where Lee had been sitting.

Gai shrugged. "You're my student, I would never abandon you."

Neji, a little pissed about sleeping on the floor, stood up and popped his back. "Morning sleepy head."

Misaki chuckled. "And thank you for—"

"Don't mention it, just get Tsunade to give me a sleeping bag next time. That floor killed me last night." Neji said as he popped his shoulders and neck.

Misaki nodded. "Of course. Did Kosuke make it home okay?"

Neji and Gai nodded.

"Rekki knows of the situation?" Misaki asked seriously.

Neji nodded. "Yeah, we told him. He seemed a little angry at himself, but he said that he would call your clan together today and tell them."

"Thank you, everyone."

They shrugged. "Not a problem."

Tsunade walked in with a clipboard in her hands. "About time you woke up!"

Everyone in the room sighed.

"Seriously, I thought that you wanted to get out of here." Tsunade said with one hand on her hip.

Misaki nodded quickly. "Yes, I want to get out of here as quickly as possible."

"I would've released you yesterday but you fell asleep." Tsunade sighed. "You're good to go, just come back in about two weeks from now for a check up."

Misaki nodded. "I will."

"Stay here for a moment, I thought you were still sleeping." Tsunade said, walking back out into the hall. When she came back, she threw a crutch at Lee. "That's for Misaki, so she can get around."

Gai helped Misaki up and Lee gave her the crutch. Misaki's white kimono went down a little past her knees when she stood. She had a little trouble balancing on the crutch and her left leg for a minute, but managed to hobble around her room after a while.

Tsunade walked back out of the room. "Leave when you're ready."

With Lee, Gai, and Neji's help, Misaki somehow managed to walk out of the hospital and to Lee's small apartment. Luckily, Lee was on the first floor.

"I've got to go home and tell Lord Hiashi where I was." Neji said. "I'll see you later." He walked out of the apartment complex.

"I'll come back later to help you go and get your stuff Misaki." Gai said, walking away. "I need a shower right now, though."

Misaki waved as her Sensei and Neji walked away.

"Do you want to come in?" Lee asked from the doorway.

Misaki chuckled and walked inside Lee's apartment.

It wasn't very big, but was cozy for up to three people. The kitchen was half of the apartment, it had snow-white tile and dark green walls; the entire apartment had dark green walls actually. There was a fridge, a sink, a gas stove/oven, a coffee maker, a toaster oven, and a microwave in the kitchen. The living room wasn't very big, it had a dark blue sofa and a small T.V. on top of a T.V. stand…the carpet was a crimson red. Directly next to the kitchen, on the other end of the apartment, was Lee's room. It only had a bed and some weights in it. On one side of the T.V. was the bathroom, and closest to the front door was the guest room, now Misaki's room.

Lee led Misaki over to her room and opened the door for her. It wasn't the biggest room, but it had a twin bed against the far wall and a wooden desk on the right wall.

"Sorry that it is not very big." Lee said apologetically.

Misaki looked at Lee and smiled. "I don't care, I'd prefer this over a house-sized room anyway."

Lee smiled, seeming relieved. "What do you like to eat?"

"Um…I like curry and rice a lot." Misaki said after thinking for a minute. In reality, she would eat just about anything that she hadn't eaten a lot of when she was a kid.

Lee nodded. "Then I will make that for lunch later. I meant, what do you like for breakfast?"

Misaki laughed at herself for a moment then said, "I like pancakes."

Lee walked off to the kitchen and dug some frozen pancakes out from the freezer and put them into the microwave for Misaki.

Misaki walked to the couch and sat down, putting her crutch on the floor next to her. "Lee, where's the remote?"

"It should be on the couch somewhere." Lee said, making himself some waffles.

Misaki looked on the couch, not seeing it she stood up and found that she was sitting on the remote. She sighed, grabbed it, and sat back down. After flipping through the channels for a minute, she found a cartoon on and watched it.

Lee walked in not too much longer later and handed Misaki her food. "Here you go."

Misaki looked away from the T.V. long enough to take her pancakes. "Thank you."

Lee sat down next to Misaki and started eating his pancakes. Not too much longer, the cartoon was over and Misaki started flipping through the channels again. She stopped on MTV when she saw that they were playing Weird Al Yankavich. (Spelling?) Lee stared blankly at the screen when "White And Nerdy" started playing. Misaki just started laughing uncontrollably when she realized how much that it described Lee. (What it means is…Woo-hoo!)

By the time the song ended, Misaki was laughing so hard that tears were rolling down her face. Lee was half glaring at her when he realized exactly **why** she was laughing.

Lee sighed and changed the channel to something random.

"Are you angry at me?" Misaki asked, giving Lee the puppy-dog eyes.

Lee smiled and sighed. "How could I be angry at a face like that?"

Misaki smiled. "Yaay! So…I have a question."

"Hmm?"

"Did you make a homepage for your dog?" Misaki said, starting to laugh again.

"Misaki!" Lee half yelled. "Not funny! I do not even have a dog!"

Misaki stopped laughing. "I know, I just couldn't help myself. The song reminded me of you for some odd reason." Then suddenly this ran through her mind, _Woo-Hoo!!_, and she started laughing again.

Lee sighed and shook his head; he knew that she was going to be a handful. When Misaki finished eating, Lee took her plate and put it the sink along with his own.

When Lee sat back down, someone knocked on the door.

"It is unlocked!" Lee shouted.

Neji opened the door and sighed. "How many times do I have to tell you that it's dangerous to leave your door unlocked?!"

Misaki sighed. "Lee, you have to lock your door now that I'm living with you." She said sternly.

"Why?" Lee seemed confused. "It is not a big deal."

"Do you know how many thieves are in the village?" Neji asked, smacking Lee upside the head.

Misaki shook her head. _Boys will be boys I suppose._

Gai walked in next. "Hello."

"Gai-Sensei!" Lee said, standing up and saluting Gai.

Neji and Misaki sweatdropped when Lee saluted Gai.

"Misaki, I'm sorry but we're going to go meet Kakashi Hatake's team and show you off right now." Gai said, scratching the back of his head. "We'll get your things later today, I promise."

"You're going to show me off when I'm injured?" Misaki was definitely confused at this guy's logic.

Neji shook his head. "This won't be the strangest thing he'll do, trust me." (Get your head out of the gutter!!!)

"Lets go!" Gai said enthusiastically.

Misaki sighed, grabbed her crutch, and stood up, walking out of the door with Lee and Neji on either side of her.

…

Team Gai walked up to Team 7 as they were talking with Gaara about something or another. Misaki just sighed. Great, another person to see her when she's this extensively injured! What the hell was Gai thinking?

"Yo! Kakashi!" Gai yelled when they got a little closer.

Kakashi looked over and smiled under his mask as his friend and the others approached. Gaara turned around only slightly at the voice, revealing a short guy with blue hair standing in front of him.

Misaki gasped in rage and stopped where she was, not twenty feet away from the Kazekage.

Lee stopped and looked back at the obviously enraged Misaki. "Misaki?"

"You! What the hell are you doing here?!"

The blue-haired shrimp looked from behind Gaara, his face went pale when he saw Misaki.

Kakashi was now standing beside Gai, trying to figure out who Misaki was. "Who's that?"

Gai proudly replied, "My new student, Misaki Kurana."

Gaara turned completely around. Lee and Neji were both looking at their teammate. Naruto and Sakura stayed by Kenji.

"How dare you even show your face here!" Misaki shouted in complete rage. _That sorry son-of-a-bitch! After he…he destroyed the only __**real**__ family I had!!_

…

_A year and a half ago, Misaki ran through the Sound Village with her teammates; Takeshi Kendo and Ryuji Byo._

_Takeshi, the nominated leader of the group since Hayate's death, led them through the village. He had long black hair bound in a single ponytail at the top of his head. His clothes consisted of a dark blue trench coat over a black tank top and black pants; he wore his Leaf headband around his neck._

_Ryuji, unlike his teammates, wasn't the average ninja or the average person in general. He had short black hair with blood red tips and roots. He wore an unzipped light gray jacket that showed off his chest, and blue jeans; his Leaf headband covered his right eye due to a scar that left it permanently shut._

_Misaki was pretty much the same person that she would be later on except that she was always more cheerful now. She wore a sleeveless black turtleneck, black gaucho pants, and black gloves. Her black hair dangled in front of her face, hiding it. Her Leaf headband was around her left leg._

_Takeshi stopped in front of a large structure near the middle of the village where a single Sound Ninja stood guard. The Sound Ninja faced Misaki, Takeshi, and Ryuji as they approached the building._

_The Sound Ninja looked directly at the Leaf Shinobi coldly. He wore a dark blue sound jacket and slightly tight black pants. He had dark blue hair bound in a ponytail that touched the nape of his neck. A Sound headband was wrapped around his neck and a sword was at his side._

_With one look at this man, Misaki could tell his strength was of one who didn't care about life or about death._

"_We have come to avenge our Sensei." Takeshi said boldly through his fear. "We will __**not**__ back down!"_

_Misaki focused on the chakra of the solo Sound Ninja, taking a step back when she sensed it. "Takeshi!" Takeshi turned to her. "His chakra's overwhelming. We should retreat for now."_

_Takeshi sensed his chakra not a moment later and nodded. "Ryuji, lets…"_

_Ryuji ran at the Sound Ninja, a kunai knife drawn._

"_RYUJI, NO!" Misaki and Takeshi shouted when they realized what exactly Ryuji was doing. _

_The Sound Ninja threw Ryuji back to where he was once standing with little to no effort. "Give up…you won't win."_

"_Misaki, attend to Ryuji!" Takeshi shouted, not realizing that his teammate was ready to fight._

"_What's your name?!" Misaki asked quickly._

_The Sound Ninja simply replied, "Kenji Uchiha, the Shadow Dragon of the Sound."_

"_Misaki!" Takeshi shouted at her again._

"_I wanna fight this cocky son-of-a-bitch!" Misaki shouted as she assumed the battle position that would begin her fight with Lee a year and a half later. _

_Kenji ran at Misaki with super-human speed, making her unsure of what to do. Kenji did the hand-sign for the Fireball Jutsu and, as the fireball flew towards her, Misaki jumped into the air and did the hand-sign for Water Control._

_Water rose around Misaki in a tidal wave aimed for Kenji._

"_MISAKI!!" Takeshi and Ryuji shouted as Misaki was engulfed by her own Keke-Genki._

_The water rushed towards Misaki and wrapped around her arms, the water turned sharp as a sword. "Water Sword!" She said, slashing at Kenji and causing his upper body to begin to bleed._

_Takeshi and Ryuji ran over to Misaki, they knew that the Water Sword used a lot of chakra. They caught her as she fell to her knees._

_Kenji dropped to one knee as his chest began to bleed, and he found no other choice but to use his last resort. Kenji drew his sword. "Elah, Shadow of Death!" Seven of the Eight Gates opened inside of Kenji and he attacked the three Leaf Shinobi._

_Misaki, Takeshi, and Ryuji tried dodging the Shadow of Death in three different directions. It must've been luck for Misaki to be the only one not to be hit by the move and die. Takeshi and Ryuji were caught in the blast and killed on impact. Misaki's right arm was torn open by the move._

_Misaki fell to the ground, clutching her arm where it bled. She looked over and saw what was left of her teammate's bodies' drop to the ground. "…Takeshi! …Ryuji!" She shouted, gasping for breath._

_Kenji passed out, dropping to his side._

_Misaki glared over at Kenji and walked over to where he lay. She thought she could easily kill him right then, oh how she wanted to, but realized that the blood loss would get to her first. Misaki turned around and ran as fast as she could for the Sound Village's southwestern gate, crying all the way back to the village._

…

Kenji mouthed two words; no one was sure what they were.

The silence that had ensued when Misaki was lost in a forgotten memory was broken when she preformed a hand sign and yelled out, "Shadow clone jutsu!" Five perfect, uninjured clones of Misaki appeared. _I swore to myself I'd kill this man…I'll fulfill that promise today._

Next Time;

Recovery's A Bitch When Your Doctor's Crazy:

It's been two weeks since Misaki was released from the hospital and she has to go in for a check up… Too bad her doctor's Tsunade.


	5. Recovery's a Bitch When

Kakashi about stepped in, but Gai grabbed his arm. "Wait."

Gaara, Naruto, and Sakura were still confused. They could only watch as Kenji jumped in front of them. In a split second, he'd destroyed the five clones with his sword.

"Misaki, what is the matter?!" Lee asked frantically.

"He…that…**monster** killed Ryuji and Takeshi!" Misaki replied angrily.

Kenji looked up. Neji, Lee, and Misaki's eyes were locked in his gaze. His black eyes were suddenly blazing red with the Sharingan. "I'm not a monster."

"You murdered my friends! Monster!"

No one was exactly sure what happened next. What was obvious was that Kenji had launched some sort of fire jutsu. Team Gai was thrown back, and lots of things were on fire. Kenji put his katana back in its sheathe.

Misaki stubbornly stood up, regardless of – and completely ignoring – her injuries.

"I was only…following orders." Kenji said coldly.

"Sha—" Misaki had begun the Shadow Clone Jutsu again, but was hit over the head with a chair from a nearby restaurant.

Everyone was shocked by the randomness of the chair.

Naruto looked at Sakura. "Sakura, was that a chair?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, Naruto…it was a chair."

Kenji could only blink.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Tsunade picked up the chair and flung it at Kenji. "AND YOU! YOU'RE AN UCHIHA! START ACTING LIKE ONE! KAKASHI! GAI! YOU ARE JONNIN! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

Kakashi and Gai chuckled nervously and said at the same time, "Teenagers…can't stop them."

Kenji was on the ground, his hands on his face with the chair in pieces around him.

Tsunade, who was about to kill Kakashi and Gai, then yelled, "THAT'S **NO EXCUSE**!!!!!"

Everyone else – save for the two Jonnin and the two teens that were hit in the head – sweatdropped when they realized that Tsunade was actually right.

Kakashi and Gai cringed away from the crazy Hokage as she got that I'm-about-to-kill-you aura around her. Luckily, Tsunade just sighed angrily and stomped away, shouting back a threat to kill them if they weren't gone in two minutes.

Kakashi, not wanted to be killed, said to Gai, "Gai, sorry about this. If I would've known…" Kenji clutched onto Kakashi's arm. "Shh, Kenji, it's okay."

"Come on, let's go." Gai said, helping Misaki back up. "Kakashi, I'll talk to you later."

Gai led his team, Neji and Lee on either side of Misaki because she was having more trouble walking since Tsunade hit her over the head, to the Kurana estate. They were going to go and pick up Misaki's stuff now…might as well since the crazy teenagers might try to kill each other if they see the other person again.

When they approached the estate, Rekki opened the gate almost expecting them to come. He smiled when he saw Misaki, but frowned when he realized how badly she was injured.

"I'm sorry, Lady Misaki, this is my fault." Rekki said once Team Gai had stopped in front of him.

Misaki shook her head. "It's nobodies fault except for my parents. They chose to do this to me, besides I chose this for myself…you would've been wrongfully punished."

Rekki nodded. "You're here for your things, I assume."

Misaki nodded confusingly. "Yeah…did Neji or Gai-Sensei tell you?"

Rekki nodded. "Yes, Lady Misaki, Neji did."

Misaki sighed. "I'm not part of this clan any longer, don't call me 'Lady Misaki', 'Misaki' is just fine."

Rekki seemed shocked but understood. "Okay then, lets go get your things."

They walked onto the estate, while getting some very strange looks from members of the branch families. Misaki ignored the branch families; she had known that this would happen when she came.

Rekki opened the door to Misaki's old room and stood aside. "I'll go get some other people if you would like some additional help…Misaki."

Misaki smiled when her cousin said only her name. "I'll keep you informed…could you please wait there, just in case?"

Rekki nodded and stood just outside the door.

"What would you like to take back?" Lee asked when he saw all of Misaki's stuff.

"Most of it will stay here, don't worry." Misaki said, shrugging.

"Why's that?" Neji asked, relieved.

Misaki looked at the ground and picked up her Leaf headband off the floor, looking at it sadly. "Maybe it's just too much…" She mumbled to herself.

Neji and Gai looked at her confusingly, Lee looked at Misaki sadly.

"Misaki?" Lee asked, one hand on her shoulder.

Misaki looked up at Lee, blushing slightly. "It's okay. I'm fine…it's just hard, and too much…"

Lee hugged Misaki then, not caring who saw.

Neji smiled a little, knowing exactly how Misaki felt for Lee.

Misaki put her right arm around Lee and cried, "It's too much to bear!"

Neji and Gai exchanged a sad look and hugged Misaki, who seemed more relaxed now that people who cared for her surrounded her. When they let her go, Misaki smiled at her team and started telling them what to grab.

"Rekki, can we get some help?" Misaki asked.

Rekki nodded and walked in, grabbing three bags of Misaki's stuff and followed them all back to Lee's apartment. He put Misaki's stuff down and went back to the estate.

Misaki sat down on the bed and sighed. "I have too much crap!"

Neji, Lee, and Gai, gasping for breath, agreed. They then started helping her unpack and set everything around the room.

By the time they were done, the sun was about to set. Misaki's room looked more like a teenager's room now, instead of a room that was just there. There was a large round black rug in the middle of the floor, movie and band posters on the walls, and a purple paper lantern hanging from the ceiling. Her bed now had a black comforter and pillows on it, and a stuffed penguin. And the desk had a bunch of stuff thrown on it. Her closet was filled with her clothes.

Misaki smiled. "Thank you guys, I really appreciate it!"

Lee and Gai sighed and walked into the living room, saying that they were thirsty. Neji stayed behind and sat down next to Misaki on her bed.

Misaki smiled, as she looked at the ground, finally happy.

"I'm guessing that earlier you were incredibly happy." Neji said with a smirk.

Misaki looked at Neji and blushed. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

Neji chuckled. "Lee hugged you, you were happy."

"Uh…" Misaki blushed harder. "I would punch you if I wasn't afraid of Tsunade randomly showing up!"

Neji laughed and poked Misaki in the side. When he did she squealed, which made him poke, and tickle, her even more.

"Stop it!!" Misaki yelled in between fits of laughter.

Lee and Gai walked in with cups of water in their hands and stared blankly at "the torturer and the tortured". Misaki begged them to help for about two minutes before they put the cups down and helped Misaki out of Neji's poke torture.

Lee handed Misaki a cup of water. "Here."

Misaki stopped laughing and took the cup. "Thanks." She drank the entire glass within thirty seconds.

The three boys sighed when she stared at them innocently after drinking the entire cup. Not too much longer later, Gai and Neji left to go home…which left Misaki and Lee alone.

Lee stood up to walk out of Misaki's room so she could sleep, but was stopped by a hand tugging at his wrist. "Misaki?"

"I'm sorry for earlier…when I had a breakdown." Misaki said as she looked at the ground. "It's just been hard for a while, and I didn't mean to break down in front of you guys."

Lee turned around and hugged Misaki again. "It is okay, you have been through a lot…I cannot blame you." Lee let her go and looked Misaki in the eye. "I will let you go to bed."

Misaki smiled as Lee closed the door to her room. _I want to tell you, I probably should…but I just can't. Maybe I should explain what explain __**why**__ exactly I had that breakdown though…_

Misaki lay down on her bed after putting the crutch down next to her bed where she could easily grab it in the morning. She looked at the door, as if expecting Lee to walk in one more time, and shut her eyes.

…

It's been two weeks now, and that means to go and visit her crazy/homicidal doctor – Tsunade. Lee helped her to the clinic, since Neji and Gai had previous arrangements for the day they couldn't come. Misaki wore her normal blue blouse today and some black capris. As the clinic came into sight, Misaki had a small flashback of Tsunade and the chair.

Lee saw her face become a little worried and he asked, "Are you going to be okay?"

Misaki nodded nervously. "If Tsunade doesn't try to kill me, I'll be fine."

Lee chuckled. "You will be alright…I will not let Tsunade do you anymore harm."

Misaki smiled at Lee. "Thanks…I guess."

"What do you mean 'I guess'?"

Misaki smirked. "You could've prevented her from hitting me in the head in the first place."

"I did not know she was there!" Lee shouted.

Misaki laughed. "You're way too uptight sometimes, calm down!"

Lee sighed. They walked into the clinic and saw Tsunade waiting impatiently by the front desk. She didn't say anything, but almost literally dragged Misaki to the room.

"First I'm going to take off your eye patch to see how your eye's doing." Tsunade said when Misaki sat down in a chair. Tsunade took off Misaki's eye patch and saw that her eye was almost completely healed. "Fast healer. Can you see out of your eye?"

"Yeah, perfectly." Misaki said, shocked.

Tsunade nodded and scribbled something down on a sheet of paper. "Now I need to look at your leg."

Misaki sighed. "Does this require a very painful removal of the cast?"

"Well, not **very** painful." Tsunade said with a smirk.

Misaki tensed up a little, she doesn't like pain very much.

Tsunade sighed. "It'll be as painful as when you hit the ground two weeks ago."

Misaki chuckled innocently. "Yes, that…"

Tsunade shook her head. "I'll be back." Tsunade walked out of the room and returned with Shizune, her assistant. "Shizune, help me remove Misaki's cast."

Shizune nodded. "Yes, Lady Tsunade." Shizune grabbed a thing to remove the cast and did so very quickly.

"Itai…!" Misaki shouted as the last of the cast was **peeled** away from her skin. _That bitch said this __**wouldn't**__ be painful!!_

When the last of the cast was off of Misaki's leg, Shizune bowed respectfully and left the room.

Tsunade kneeled down and looked at Misaki's leg. She tapped something against her knee, but Misaki didn't yell…she just reacted by kicking her leg out.

Tsunade sighed and stood up. "Good news on your leg as well. You just need a knee brace for about a year, then it'll be fine."

Misaki was very confused. "You said that my leg was nearly irreparable two weeks ago!"

Tsunade shrugged. "Beats me…I guess that you have a very healthy body. It doesn't make much sense to me either, but you just need a knee brace now."

"My arm, now…?" She asked, wanting to know how her arm was.

Tsunade nodded and took Misaki's left arm from the sling. "Extend your arm as much as you can."

Misaki extended it almost all the way to straight before she couldn't extend it anymore.

Tsunade nodded. "Good. You don't the sling anymore, and the bruises on your arm are most likely almost gone." Tsunade removed the bandages from Misaki's right arm and nodded. "Yep, you don't need this anymore."

Misaki sighed in relief when she could freely move both of her arms. "What about my forehead…?"

Tsunade shook her head. "The gash was really deep, we should keep the bandages on to prevent an infection."

Misaki nodded.

Tsunade stood up and walked out of the room. "I'll bring your knee brace in. Want me to go get your friend?"

"Okay, and sure."

"Lee!" Tsunade shouted as she shut the door.

Not too much longer later, Lee walked into the room. He seemed relieved when Misaki didn't have as many bandages on.

"Misaki, you are looking much better." Lee smiled.

Misaki smiled. "Yeah, I just need a knee brace for a year and then, Tsunade said, I'll be fine."

Lee stood directly in front of her. "You remember what you told me a week ago?"

Misaki thought for a minute. "I said a lot last week…what exactly are you pin-pointing?"

"I thought about how you said that you like to look out of your window and look at the summer flowers." Lee said. "And I decided to buy an apartment with a window in nearly every room."

Misaki smile grew brighter. "Really?!"

Lee nodded.

Misaki stood up and gave Lee a hug. "That's awesome!"

Lee hugged her back and sat her back down on the seat. "Wait until Tsunade is back with your knee brace to do that. Do you want another cast?"

Misaki chuckled.

Tsunade walked back in. "Sorry it took me a while, I had find one that looked like it would fit you." She threw the knee brace at Misaki.

She caught it and quickly wrapped it around her leg.

"You're good to go." Tsunade said, walking out of the room.

Misaki and Lee followed Tsunade.

"Yes?" Tsunade asked, annoyed at the people following her.

"When's my next appointment?" Misaki asked.

Tsunade shrugged. "I'll call you." Tsunade walked off to attend to another patient.

Misaki smiled as her and Lee walked out of the clinic and back to the apartment complex, where Gai and Neji were waiting.

"Gai-Sensei? Neji?" Misaki was confused. "Didn't you guys have something to do today?"

Neji nodded. "Surprise you. It was Lee's idea. By the way, you look great now."

"Yes, you look much better." Gai agreed. "Lets move your things to the new apartment."

"But don't we need some time to take everything down?" Misaki asked. Then she looked around and saw nothing but a sea of boxes and bags.

"We already packed all of your things." Neji sighed. "it wasn't easy doing it that fast either."

Lee chuckled innocently. "Thank you anyway."

Misaki nodded. "Yeah, thanks."

"And this time, you can help us." Neji said, grateful for more help this time.

"Well, actually, I can just use a water control technique and move all of our stuff that way." Misaki said as-a-matter-of-factly.

Neji glared at her. "Why didn't you do that two weeks ago?!"

"I need two hands to use this technique." Misaki said innocently.

Gai, Neji, and Lee sighed as they all started moving stuff outside so Misaki could move it to the new apartment. When everything was outside, Misaki put her hands into a seal.

"Water confinement!" Misaki extended both hands and water formed into a sphere around all of the boxes and bags.

The boys were astounded at the jutsu, staring at it with their mouths wide open.

"Direct me to the place." Misaki said, concentrating on the water prison.

Lee directed her to the new apartment. It wasn't as much an apartment as it was a mini-house. Misaki dropped all of the stuff in front of the apartment when she saw the place. It looked like a small cottage, but had the design of a house.

"This is…the apartment?" Misaki asked with her mouth hanging open.

Lee nodded. "That is what it said in the ad anyway."

"THIS AIN'T NO GODDAMN APARTMENT, IT'S A HOUSE!!" Misaki shouted at the three boys who were staring her funny.

The boys laughed as they took everything inside. When Misaki took in a box of her things, she dropped it. The inside was the size of Lee's old apartment, but was better designed. There were wooden floors throughout it; the kitchen was part of a dining room. The living room wasn't pin-pointable. There were three rooms and a bathroom. They decided that Misaki's room was the one with black walls. She stared at the "apartment" as she brought in bags and boxes. Once everything was inside, they started putting up things in different rooms.

Misaki's room looked pretty much the same from at the old apartment, but with black walls. She put up black curtains over her window and her CD player/radio sat under her window. Her bed was off to the far right wall; next to her bed was a nightstand. Her movie and band posters were randomly thrown on the walls. She had a purple paper lantern, currently off, hanging from her ceiling. Her large black rug was rolled out in the middle of the floor.

Misaki walked out of the room and into the living room. "Hey, you guys got this place set up pretty fast."

The sofa sat in front of the TV, in between Lee and Misaki's rooms. Everything in the kitchen was put up; the bathroom was now decorated – Neji's fault –, and Lee's bedroom had his bed and some weights in it.

"The guest room's not done." Misaki pointed out when she saw the empty room.

Lee shrugged. "We are going to make that a computer room."

"That works!" Misaki said happily.

Gai opened the front door. "It's dark outside."

Everyone looked outside and saw that he was right.

"Shit! Lord Hiashi is **not** going to be happy!" Neji ran out the door and back to the Hyuuga estate.

Gai waved goodbye and walked back to his house, shutting the door behind him. Misaki locked the door, knowing that Lee probably wouldn't.

Lee sat down on the couch and turned on the TV.

Misaki sat next him. _He bought this new place so I could look out at the flowers… Maybe now's a good time to tell him._

But as she was about to tell him, Lee said, "I am going to bed, see you in the morning."

"Yeah, see ya." Misaki stared blankly at the TV when Lee shut the door to his room. _That was the most opportune moment, and I didn't say anything!!! Dammit!!_

Misaki stood up after a moment and turned off the TV, walking into her room to go to sleep.

Next Time:

My Personal Moon;

It's been far too long, it's about time I told you how I felt! Just don't shoot me down.

**(Sorry, but… Five-month time skip!)**


	6. My Personal Moon

(A/N: Sorry about all the lyrics, but Misaki had to have an excuse to sing…)

…

Misaki opened her eyes groggily, still a little tired from the night before. She sat up and grabbed the knee brace on her nightstand, slowly wrapping it around her knee. Since Tsunade told Misaki that she only needed a knee brace, she's been able to get around more on her own. Though that was five months ago, during the warm weather of summer. Unfortunately, now it's December…not one of Misaki's favorite months.

Misaki stood up, her long black nightgown falling to her ankles, and walked over to the window. She turned on her CD player/radio that still sat below it, setting it to the song "I'm Just A Kid" by Simple Plan, and opened the curtain to her window.

Misaki glared at the white powder covering the ground outside of the "apartment". "Snow…" Misaki lit a match and threw it out of the window. "Die snow, die!!" (And that was my reaction when I first saw a lot of snow.)

The match went out as soon as it touched the cold snow, only adding to Misaki's bad mood. Misaki closed the window, sighing in frustration.

…

_I'm just a kid, and life is a nightmare_

_I'm just a kid; I know that it's not fair_

_Nobody cares, and I'm alone, and the world is_

_Having more fun than me…_

_Tonight…_

…

Misaki shut the curtain as tears fell down her face, recalling the night before…

…

_Misaki pulled on a light red cocktail dress, pulled her hair back into a ponytail, and put on some red high heels. Team Gai was going to a restaurant with Team Kakashi, which meant having to put up with Kenji for an hour or two. But she didn't mind having to put up with him, and she really didn't have to get dressed up. Misaki had decided that tonight she would tell Lee how she felt, so she felt the need to dress up._

_Misaki walked into the living room, her face brighter than usual. "Lee, you ready to go?"_

_Lee walked into the living room in his usual attire (a.k.a. the green spandex). "Um, you __**did**__ know this was not a formal dinner, right…?" He said when saw Misaki._

_Misaki smiled and nodded._

"_Then, why…?"_

"_I just, um, haven't worn this in a while." Misaki didn't want to tell him just yet because Neji had been bugging her, so she wanted him to see her tell Lee._

_Lee sighed inwardly and nodded. "Then we should go. Gai-Sensei told us to meet there at seven."_

_Misaki nodded and followed Lee out of the complex, to the restaurant. Okay, it wasn't really a restaurant, it was a café; Konoha Café. It only recently opened but everybody said that it was one of the best café's in the village. That wasn't really the reason they were going though. The reason was because when Gai and Kakashi combined their money…they had just enough to pass up Ichiraku._

_Lee and Misaki walked into the café and looked for their team. The café had the feeling of a place of relaxation. Kunai knives and shuriken hung from the walls, on either sides of pictures of the Hokage's; former and the current. The walls were painted blood red with wood flooring. The tables were set low to the floor so people had to either sit on the floor or on pillows._

"_Over there!" Lee said, pointing at their team. Lee and Misaki walked over to them, Neji smiled when he saw them. "What?"_

"_On a date?" Neji asked, still smiling._

_Lee and Misaki both blushed and shouted, "Are not!"_

_As they walked passed Neji, Misaki smacked Neji upside the head. Misaki sat down in between Neji and Lee…and across from Kenji. But he wasn't paying attention to her, so Misaki was fine…though Neji was glaring at him._

_Gai and Kakashi walked up not too much longer later and asked what everyone wanted to eat. By the time they came back, Kenji and Neji were having a staring contest while everyone else was debating something or another. Debate here having the meaning of yelling-at-each-other-while-trying-to-get-a-point-across._

_It didn't too long for them to eat, then they were back to yelling at each other. At one point Sakura stood up to go to the bathroom, and Lee stood up and followed her. Misaki looked at everyone, who were either yelling at each other or having a staring contest, then followed Lee._

_Misaki smiled a little, she was going to tell Lee how she felt. She walked up to the small, blocked off, area where the bathrooms were…but she stopped when she saw Lee talking to Sakura._

"_Please, be my girlfriend." Lee said to Sakura, who had her arms crossed over her chest._

_Misaki backed up a step, her smile faded from her face as hot tears replaced it. She turned from the scene and ran towards the door of the café, only to have Neji grab her arm._

_She looked back at Neji, who looked both pissed and concerned at the same time. "What happened?!"_

_Misaki pulled away from Neji and ran out of the door, as she did, she could hear Neji yelling, "What the hell did you do to her?!"_

…

Misaki sat down on her bed as "Skin (Sarah Beth)" started playing. The tears were still flowing down her eyes as she thought, _Lee has never liked me…Damn it, I'm so stupid!_

Misaki heard someone in the living room and knew that Lee was awake. She knew that she would eventually have to face him, but didn't want to just yet.

…

…_6 chances in 10_

_It won't come back again with the therapy we're gonna try_

_It's just been just been approved_

_It's the strongest there is and I think we caught it in time_

_Sarah Beth closes her eyes_

_And she dreams she's dancin' around and around without any cares_

_And her very first love is holding her close_

_And the soft wind is blowin' her hair…_

…

Misaki walked over to her closet and pulled out a light blue blouse and black capris. Since she got her knee brace, Misaki has been wearing capris a lot so that it doesn't feel as weird. She slowly brushed her hair then walked into the living room, Misaki looked around for Lee…but didn't see him. Misaki walked into the kitchen for some breakfast and found a note Lee had left.

Misaki,

Went out for a little while. Should be back before noon.

~Lee

Misaki sighed and threw the note in the trash, thinking that she had ruined everything. Misaki sat on the sofa and stared blankly at the blank TV screen.

_I ruined everything last night. I shouldn't have reacted that way…now Lee and I have absolutely no chance of getting together._ Misaki thought, the tears threatening to come back. Misaki shook her head, forcing the tears to go away. _I won't cry anymore! I have to let him go, he doesn't love me!_

No matter what she told herself though, Misaki couldn't let go of that small hope that maybe Lee did really love her. And Lee just wouldn't get out of her mind, which forced the tears to fall down her cheeks.

Misaki managed to stop crying as soon as Lee walked back into the apartment.

"Misaki, you are awake…?" Lee seemed surprised; he had thought that she would be in bed still.

Misaki nodded and swatted away a couple of stray tears. "Yeah…"

Lee sat down next to her on the sofa. "Misaki, Neji seemed angry last night when you left. He asked me what I did, but I do not even know…Is there anything wrong?"

_I love you!_ Misaki shook her head though. "No, I just had another breakdown… It's no one's fault…I'm sorry."

Lee shrugged. "Gai-Sensei wanted us to meet at the karaoke bar at around two o'clock today."

Misaki nodded. "Okay then."

Misaki tried to keep the tears down as last night ran through her head once again, she didn't want to believe it, but the continued path her life is going is leading to hell. Misaki sighed a few times to make the tears go away, and it worked.

Lee looked over at her as she sighed. "Is there anything wrong?"

Misaki looked over at Lee and smiled as much as she could. "No, nothing's wrong. Don't worry about it."

Lee nodded and turned on the TV, flipping it to a random channel. Misaki wasn't even watching it; she just didn't want Lee to ask her if she was okay again. Her life was spiraling downhill again, this time because of a love she couldn't have. It wasn't something she really wanted to think about, but it was hard not to think about it really.

Nearly three hours later, Lee and Misaki stood up and walked to the karaoke bar to meet up with their team. Neji looked at Misaki with a concerned look when she walked up with Lee, a sad look implanted on her face.

"Misaki…" Neji said.

Misaki shook her head. "Sorry about the breakdown last night."

Neji knew what happened, but understood why she was lying. "It's not a big deal."

Gai walked up just then. "Shall we go inside?"

Misaki nodded and ran inside, wanting to get out of the cold snow. _Why can't snow be warm?!_ She thought, brushing snow off of her blouse.

Everyone else brushed the snow off of their clothes and grabbed a table before somebody stole it. The karaoke bar was full today, probably because of the contest going on. Right now, Shizune was finishing up singing "Sanctuary" by Utada Hikaru.

Everyone clapped as Shizune bowed and walked off the stage and back to her seat next to Tsunade…who was the next person up. While Tsunade chose her music, Lee, Neji, and Misaki signed up – in that order – to sing after Tsunade. Tsunade had chosen "Untitled (How Could This Happen To Me?)" by Simple Plan.

People clapped as Tsunade finished a few minutes later and Lee was called up to sing next.

While Lee chose his music, Neji asked Misaki, "Did you make up the breakdown story so as not to worry Lee?"

Misaki nodded. "I didn't want him to feel bad because of how I felt for him and because he felt nothing for me in return."

Gai was very confused, but mainly ignored the conversation.

Lee picked "Nothing I Won't Give" by Vic Mignogia.

…

_Haunted by the past, and nightmares that seem so unreal  
Wish that I could turn back time  
And spare the pain that we both feel  
And how we've changed  
Things'll never be the same  
(Things'll never be the same)  
We were foolish then but our trials served to make us strong  
The burdens are not yours alone  
We've sought the answers for so long  
But they're not free  
They cost you more than they cost me  
(My brother-er-er-er)  
I promise you,  
There is nothing I won't give  
To see this through  
Return the soul to where it lives  
I promise you,  
I'd go everywhere I've been  
To find a way  
To make atonement for my sin  
And see, see your smiling face again  
When we paid the price at last  
And we are whole once more  
Life will be the way it was  
The way it was before that day she slipped away  
Together we'll redeem that day!  
And I promise you,  
There is nothing I won't give  
To see this through  
Return the soul to where it lives  
I promise you,  
I'd go everywhere I've been  
To find a way  
To make atonement for my sin  
And see, see your smiling faaaace!  
(I promise)  
(I promise)  
(I promise)  
I promise you,  
There is nothing I won't give  
To see this through  
Return the soul to where it lives  
I promise you,  
I'd go everywhere I've been  
To find a way  
To make atonement for my sin  
And see, see your smiling face  
Agaaaaain!_

…

The people clapped as Lee returned to his seat and Neji chose his song. Which was "Alyssa Lies" by Jason Michael Carroll.

…

_My little girl met a new friend_

_Just the other day_

_On the playground at school_

_Between the tires and the swings_

_But she came home with tear-filled eyes_

_And she said to me, "Daddy, Alyssa lies"_

_Well I just brushed it off at first_

_'Cause I didn't know how much my little girl had been hurt_

_Or the things she had seen_

_I wasn't ready when I said, "You can tell me"_

_And she said..._

_"Alyssa lies to the classroom_

_Alyssa lies everyday at school_

_Alyssa lies to the teachers_

_As she tries to cover every bruise"_

_My little girl laid her head down that night to go to sleep_

_As I stepped out of the room, I heard her say a prayer so soft and sweet_

_"God bless my mom and my dad_

_And my new friend, Alyssa_

_(Oh)_

_I know she needs you bad_

_Because Alyssa lies to the classroom_

_Alyssa lies everyday at school_

_Alyssa lies to the teachers_

_As she tries to cover every bruise"_

_I had the worst night of sleep in years_

_As I tried to think of a way to calm her fears_

_I knew just what it was I had to do_

_But when we got to school on Monday I heard the news_

_My little girl asked me why everybody looked so sad_

_The lump in my throat grew bigger_

_With every question that she asked_

_Until I felt the tears run down my face_

_And I told her that Alyssa wouldn't be in school today_

_'Cause she doesn't lie in the classroom_

_She doesn't lie anymore at school_

_Alyssa lies with Jesus_

_Because there's nothin' anyone would do_

_Tears filled my eyes when my little girl asked me why_

_Alyssa lies_

_(Oh, daddy, oh)_

_"Daddy tell me why_

_Alyssa lies"_

…

People clapped as Neji passed Misaki; she knew what she was going to sing the minute Lee had told her about coming to the karaoke bar. Misaki smiled at Neji, the smile told him not to worry because she had everything figured out. Because everything would go numb for her after this …

Misaki chose to sing "My Personal Moon" by Madison Park.

…

_The moon will affect the tide_

_And you will affect my mind_

_The moon will affect the tide_

_More than the sun_

_And you will affect my mind_

_We will be one_

_Making me high_

_Your waves of energy_

_A current pulling me_

_You are my moon_

_My personal moon_

_The moon is my guiding light_

_Filled by the sun_

_I follow the moon at night_

_It leads me home_

_The moon is my guiding light_

_Filled by the sun_

_I follow the moon at night_

_It leads me home_

_Making me high_

_Your waves of energy_

_A current pulling me_

_You are my moon_

_My personal moon_

_Making me high_

_Pulling me closer_

_Pulling me closer_

_Making me high_

_Pulling me closer_

_Pulling me closer_

_Making me high_

…

The people clapped when Misaki finished her song. But, instead of returning to her seat, she ran to a back room with tears streaming down her face.

Lee stopped clapping when he saw Misaki run to the back room. "She was not bad at all…why did she run?"

Neji sighed in frustration, not able to hold it in any longer. "You're so stupid!!"

Lee and Gai looked at Neji like he was crazy or something.

"What are you talking about?" Lee asked.

"I can't believe you haven't realized it by now!" Neji nearly yelled. "Misaki **loves** you! Last night she saw you talking to Sakura and thought that she would never have a chance to tell you how she felt! **That** is why she ran out crying last night!"

Lee thought about they way Misaki acted around him and then about the café last night, and realized how obvious it had been the entire time. Then Lee really felt like shit when he realized that all along…he loved her too.

Lee stood up and ran to the back room to find Misaki. He found her with a knife in her hand, just looking at it. She looked up when she sensed a different chakra in the room.

"Lee?" Misaki asked after a sob, tears flowing freely down her face.

Lee grabbed the knife from Misaki's hand and put it down on a nearby box, sitting down in front of her. "Misaki, you could have just told me."

"What?" She really didn't know what he was talking about.

Lee pulled Misaki into a loving hug. "I love you."

Misaki wrapped her arms around Lee and sobbed. "Th-Then why d-did you ask S-Sakura to b-be your g-girlfriend?"

Lee hugged her tighter. "Because I did not realize what was right in front of me."

Misaki sobbed into Lee's shoulder for a minute then looked him in the eyes, tears running down her face. "I love you too."

Lee smiled and wiped away Misaki's tears. The two then kissed, it was a short passionate kiss. And when they disconnected, Misaki finally realized what she had been missing from her life to make her happy. Real, true love and affection.

To be continued…

I Gave Him The Time:

Lee and Misaki are happy and don't think that anything could ever separate them…but they're wrong.


End file.
